Coach James Dickey and his Houston Cougars will be the first game to open the C-USA schedule Friday.

Nov. 8, 2012

The 2012-13 men's basketball season tips off for Conference USA teams this weekend. The Houston Cougars are the first team to take to the hardwood with a noon contest Friday against Florida A&M. Marshall and UTEP are also at home for their respective season openers Friday against Longwood and Oral Roberts.

Tulane is the fourth team in action Friday as the Green Wave plays at Georgia Tech. Last season, Tulane defeated the Yellow Jackets, 57-52. Fans got one of the early looks at the potential of Ricky Tarrant as he led the Green Wave with a then career-high 24 points and seven rebounds. Tarrant, who went on to be named to the all-conference first team and the unanimous selection for the C-USA Freshman of the Year, scored 20 points at the break and hit 6-of-7 three-point attempts for the game. Friday's game will be televised on the ACC Network and streamed on ESPN3.

Five games are on the schedule for Saturday. East Carolina, Rice, Southern Miss and UAB all open at home, while UCF is on the road to face intrastate rival USF. Saturday will be the debuts of two coaches: Southern Miss's Donnie Tyndall and UAB's Jerod Haase. Southern Miss hosts Western Kentucky and both teams made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Marshall gets its second game in the books Sunday with a road game at Villanova. Tip-off is 1 p.m. EST from Philadelphia's Main Line as part of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project. SMU and Tulsa are also in action Sunday to make the debuts of Mustang head man Larry Brown and his former pupil Danny Manning at TU.

No. 17/16 Memphis is the final C-USA team to play its season opener when the Tigers host North Florida at FedExForum on Monday. Game time is 6:30 p.m. CST and it will be televised on CSS.